Wachusett Top NASTAR Program

07.24.2017 | Bill Madsen

The 2016-17 Liberty Mutual Insurance NASTAR season has come to a close. Wachusett Mountain wrapped up the season with 18,558 race starts. Second place goes to Steamboat Resort with 14,752 starts and Aspen Mountain placed third with 13,001 NASTAR race starts. A start is the total number of race runs at a resort or club.

Wachusett Mountain also had the most racer days with 8,491. Cranmore Mountain Resort placed second with 6,662 racer days and Park City Mountain Resort finished the season in third place with 6,054 racer days. A racer day equals the total number of entries during the season.

Aspen Mountain, CO hosted the most individual racers with 3,322 participants competing on the Silver Dip Swing race venue. Park City Mountain Resort was a close second with 3,309 racers competing and Steamboat Resort placed third with 2,671 racers.

NASTAR ranks all of its resorts within their region based on the total number of racer days. The New England region did very well this season with Wachusett and Cranmore recording the most racer days. Pat's Peak, NH placed third within the region with 3,547 racer days.

In the Mid-Atlantic region, Hunter Mountain's new NASTAR venue on Lower Broadway was a hit leading the resort to the top position in the region. Windham Mountain, NY had another successful season to place second and Roundtop Mountain Resort, PA recorded the third most racer days in the region.

In the Midwest region, Buck Hill, MN had the most racer days ahead of Nub's Nob, MI and WIJARA (Wisconsin Junior Alpine Racing Association) based on NASTAR racer days.

The Rocky Mountain region is always competitive and it was great to see Aspen Mountain have a successful season to take the top participation position ahead of Steamboat Resort and Snowmass Mountain.

The Western region saw a battle between Park City Mountain Resort, UT and Deer Valley Resort, UT with the former producing the most racer days. Schweitzer Mountain Resort, ID placed third in the region edging out Sun Valley Resort, ID.

It is also worth noting that participation at the Liberty Mutual Insurance NASTAR National Championships was strong again this season as 76 NASTAR resorts were represented at the event. The host resort often has the most racers at the event and this year was no different with 50 participants racing for Steamboat. Hidden Valley, MO had the second most participants at the National Championship with 35 racer representing the small but powerful resort. There was a three way tie for third place as 27 participants represented Wachusett Mountain, MA, Okemo Mountain, VT and Sugar Mountain, NC.

The Resort Team Competition at the National Championships is always exciting and this spring was no exception. Aspen Mountain earned the win ahead of Park City Mountain Resort and Steamboat placed third. Mt. Brighton, MI proved the small resorts can mix it up with the big ski areas as they grabbed fourth place narrowly edging out another small resort in fifth place, Chestnut Mountain, IL.

About the author

Author: Bill Madsen

Location: Aspen, CO

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As the Director of NASTAR, Bill is accountable for the overall execution of the program. He created the NASTAR National Championships which hosts 1,000+ competitors annually and currently resides in Colorado when he's not out traveling with the NASTAR team.